BPM Quotes of the Week - July 25, 2016

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Published: July 25, 2016

"Thanks to machine learning algorithms, it’s becoming possible for smart software to scrutinize data from a variety of sources — sensors on machines or changes in supply chains, for instance — and redesign processes in real time." -Harvard Business Review

"Any growing business is likely to encounter growing pains. But 'growing pains' is just a mild way of saying a business’ process are not adequately scalable. And rapid growth can severely damage a company if their operation isn’t set up to handle it." -WebWire

From the BPM Forum

"People with no BPM background tend to try to define everything about data before discussing process. The trick is that data and process provide context to each other so you need to start somewhere and cycle back and forth keeping flexible about what the final data/process definitions will be." -Scott Francis

"Data is incredibly important. However and IMO the issue is more: Data in context. I see many times efforts where there is so much focus on data (only), that people completely forget in which wood they're cutting the trees... In other words: Scoping, the big (system thinking, holistic etc.) picture is missing." -Walter Bril

"Even if we all agree that 'data is important', still data is never 'prioritized enough' because data is infrastructure and the business case for infrastructure is always a challenge." -John Morris

"'A process model does not a performant workflow make.' Every BPMS has idiosyncrasies - 'tips, tricks and traps' - as to how it effects and executes a process. That is, there are good ways and bad ways to design process automation on a given platform." -Patrick Lujan

"What looks like a simple process is often in practice highly nuanced by the real world business context." -John Reynolds

"Model is by definition just a facet of reality, one that helps us understand certain aspects of it (as per model's scope), but never all. So it is natural that there is a significant gap between model and reality." -Bogdan Nafornita

"Is essence all models are wrong, but some are useful. You model for a purpose, and have different models for different purposes. I use almost daily a model, in my car or in the trainstation, to get information how I will arrive at my destination. Is that reality? No it is a model, but it helps to understand the process I follow." -Michel van den Hoven

"Legacy approaches for process models based on flowcharts - simply cannot work today. Try looking at a flowchart on your small phone - is that going to work? Flowcharts are relics from the 19th century when people were just units in a production line. These days, nobody follows flowcharts - people collaborate." -Amit Kothari

"My favorite part of the job, whether focused on those abstract things we call 'processes' or focused on the customer or just on the 'things we do' - is to go to the whiteboard with as many of the constituent groups as possible. Inevitably, going back to the days of DFDs, there will be places where the arguments erupt. There are people in all groups who know what should happen and others who know what does happen." -George Chast

"Efficiency gains are a derivate and never a goal. So... the customer drives the journey, and the process guy facilitates. In other words, drives or captures the WHY." -Walter Brill

"Is it important that they (people with a background in process) PARTICIPATE in the (facilitated) process of mapping? Yeah. Otherwise, entropy will set in hard and fast when that information is transferred to the application team for implementation." -E. Scott Menter